


Superiority Complex 🍡 || Hetalia RusAme

by raspberryjun



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 2P Hetalia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cliffhangers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, Historical Hetalia, Human & Country Names Used (Hetalia), M/M, Mystery, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Lives, Past Relationship(s), Plotty, Relationship(s), Romance, Slow Burn, Texting, World Meeting (Hetalia)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22039471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberryjun/pseuds/raspberryjun
Summary: "You see, we can't be together. We're two positive charges trying to overpower each other. Two enemies who could never get along even if we tried." [🍡]Alfred and Ivan have harbored a sense of dislike for each other for the longest time. Their politics clashed and their bosses hated each other, so it was only natural that they loathed each other, too.However, a strange conspiracy has begun to unravel itself among the nations. Countries keep disappearing, and others have been acting strange. It appears that something, or perhaps someone, is targetting them. But who?In the end, it's up to Alfred to solve this mystery, and face his own past in the process as he questions his actual relationship with Ivan Braginski.Perhaps he doesn't hate him after all...?[🍡] This is a fluff fanfiction only and does not contain any NSFW content.[🍡] While there is romance, note that there is also a lot of plot and mystery involved.[🍡] Slow updates due to school.
Relationships: America/Russia (Hetalia), England/France (Hetalia)
Kudos: 21





	1. 1 [🍦] Antipathy

**Author's Note:**

> The Hetalians' human names are mainly used in this fanfiction. For every new Hetalian that enters the story, their name will always be listed at the bottom with their corresponding country as an author's note, so you don't have to keep searching them up. Just scroll down in case you forget who somebody is.
> 
> Thank you for clicking on this book. Onto the story!

Antipathy. It's the feeling of intense hatred towards something or someone.

And it especially described how Alfred felt about the Russian across from him at the table. 

Alfred couldn't seem to pinpoint an exact reason of what got on his nerves about Ivan. Perhaps it was his entire aura as a whole that pissed him off: the seemingly-permanent smirk plastered onto his face, the violet eyes that appeared to read his every secret by a quick glance, or maybe even the sense of apathy that Ivan had towards literally everyone. He was the most unreadable person that Alfred had ever encountered, and it frustrated him.

Ivan's personality in general is somewhat of a mystery to all of the nations. Of course, Ukraine and Belarus were especially close to him by relation, being his two dearest sisters since his early childhood. However, even they seemed to be unable to truly understand him, with Ukraine often on the brim of tears most of the time as her boss prevented her from seeing him, while Belarus... well, she was a _bit_ too obsessed with him. _  
_

_Honestly, the entire trio of siblings are hard to understand in general_ , Alfred pondered to himself, as he reached for the phone in his pocket-

Only for it to be immediately whacked out of his hands by Yao.

"We're at a serious meeting here, and yet you Western nations don't even try to listen to what we're talking about," the Chinese man said in an annoyed tone, as he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Can't you see that there's a huge trade problem we need to discuss?"

Alfred finally looked up from the table (taking care to avoid Ivan's burning gaze), and saw that Japan and South Korea were both at the whiteboard at the center of the room, quietly arguing while scrawling random trade information with an almost-dry marker. Well, by "arguing", it was more of South Korea throwing a tantrum while Japan made an attempt to respond back, although his soft-spoken voice made the argument sound more one-sided. Kiku wasn't exactly the best person to help lead a world meeting.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Alfred groaned, only for his expression to immediately turn to a smile as he elbowed Yao in the ribs. "C'mon though, you've gotta lighten up a bit more. No need to be so stressed about stuff."

Yao just gave him a look that screamed _Are you actually this dumb?_ before he gave up on the American and walked back to the whiteboard, where the two men were still engaged in discussion. Leaning back in his chair, Alfred looked to the right to see Francis seated right next to him, picking up a glass of wine with a graceful hand before bringing the red liquid to his lips.

Alfred was just beginning to wonder if he should say hello to France, only to jolt a little in his chair when Francis suddenly got up without a word and left. 

Well, that was strange.

Francis was often part of the lively group of countries at world meetings, always butting in with interjections and bullying Arthur to no end. It was practically the norm of all the meetings: there was never a proper meeting without Arthur and Francis dueling it out.

So it definitely felt off that he had left the meeting without another word.

"He's been like this since last week," another voice chimed in, and Alfred turned towards the sound to see Arthur heading towards him from the other side of the room, his brows furrowed so tightly that they almost seemed normal-sized for once.

"Wait, really?" Alfred had noticed that Francis hadn't talked a lot either during their trip around the city of Marseille a few days ago, but he had never realized that something was necessarily wrong. Then again, he wasn't very good at reading the moods of people. 

Arthur sighed. "I'm unsure of what to do about the problem. He's not getting much work done either according to his boss, so I find it a bit dodgy." His gaze grew more worried. "It makes me wonder if something is going on behind the scenes."

"Man, I hope he gets better soon. He's the only cool guy here," Alfred complained, as he began to spin around in his chair. He then stared at Arthur's expression momentarily, and he was surprised to see how different he was acting: he looked almost nervous, and he hadn't engaged in any arguments with anyone yet. He wondered why for a moment, but then Alfred realized the reason and smirked to himself. Alfred couldn't help but laugh a little as he said in a teasing tone: "Well, I didn't know you could actually be _this_ worried about Francis, out of all people."

The Brit froze momentarily, before looking away with a scoff. "As if. He probably got rejected by some random girl. I couldn't care less."

"Your face says it all, Eyebrows."

"That's bollocks. And don't call me that."

"Alright, whatever you say, Artie."

"Stop."

~ { 🍭 } ~

A few hours passed, and the meeting finally concluded. Of course, there were no actual solutions that the countries agreed on concerning certain trade negotations, but most nations went there for the chaos anyways. There really was no use in getting anything done.

Alfred had mainly occupied himself with talking to Arthur for a large chunk of the meeting, but now that he was alone again, he began walking to the airport to head back to New York City (they had the world meeting in Berlin at Germany's place).

He took in the fresh smell of coffee being made at one of the small airport shops as he waited for his gate to open, quickly peeking at the contents of his suitcase to make sure he had everything with him. He then took a seat at one of the many red chairs in the vast hallway after he was tired of standing around, hoping the airplane wouldn't be late again.

But then, Alfred heard the soft sounds of sobbing.

END OF CHAPTER 1.

{ 🍭🍦🍭🍦🍭 }


	2. 2 [🍦] Mystery

When Alfred turned towards the sounds of soft crying, his eyes widened to see someone in the row of chairs opposing him, shaking as tears fell from their face. He could not discern who the person was because they were wearing a cloak that concealed the entirety of their head, casting a shadow over the features of their face and neck.

All that Alfred could really see were the droplets that fell from the person's cheek, before running down the collar of their coat. They appeared to be clutching onto their phone with a strange sense of fear radiating from them. It was unsettling.

Unsure of what to do, he decided to sit next to the cloaked person, thinking that he could somehow comfort them in some way. _Maybe a family_ _emergency_ _happened_ _? Or_ _something else related to that?_ He knew that some humans went on airplane trips to visit family during rough times, so perhaps this person was going through something like that.

Alfred felt a bit more hesitant as he began approaching closer to the crying person, because he was getting the strange sense of intuition that something terrible was about to happen. Even then, he felt like he would only be letting his own honor down by leaving the person alone like that.

So, he tentatively picked his way towards the person, who he could now tell was a young-looking woman by her features. She had dropped her phone into her lap now and her sobbing had quieted down, but she kept her gaze affixed squarely onto the ground.

"Uhm, miss?"

The woman tilted her head upwards ever-so-slightly, but that was the only sign she gave of her hearing what Alfred had said. Other than that, she was unresponsive, her hands squeezed tightly into fists.

_Wait, is she a human or a country_? Alfred thought, as he began to feel a bit of anxiety and regret from approaching her. If she truly was a country, it could actually be more disastrous -- no one wanted to be too vulnerable towards another nation since it could be dangerous to know that information.

_Well, it does look like she needs help, though._ Setting his mind on his decision, he sat in the chair next to her, trying to muster the confidence to say more.

But before he could even let out another word, she suddenly spoke in an accent that was strangely familiar to his ears, and yet his brain couldn't grasp exactly who the voice belonged to.

"Please don't stay here." Her voice sounded like it was cracked, rising unnaturally before breaking at the end. She began shaking again as if a cool breeze had entered the room, in spite of the fact that they were inside an airport on a hot day. "I-I know that I'm crying but I really don't need help."

"Uh, I really don't wanna leave you like that, though. Are you sure you're okay?" He took a moment to put down his suitcase and get himself settled before turning towards her face. She still refused to look up as she began vigorously swiping through her phone as if she had suddenly become occupied. However, when Alfred peered over, he saw that she was swiping through her apps a bunch of times rather than doing anything. She clearly felt too stubborn to say anything and was doing her best to ignore him.

"Look, you don't have to tell me _everything_ , but you can talk to me if you wanna let it out," Alfred tried to say in a consoling tone (which was extremely hard for him because he wasn't accustomed to talking like that).

Her body language appeared to become slightly more relaxed momentarily, as her heavy breathing slowed down and she stopped crying and fiddling around with her phone. However, much to Alfred's surprise, she abruptly stood up.

"U-uh, miss, what are you-"

"Don't get me wrong: I appreciate your gesture in wanting to help me, Alfred." Her voice faltered momentarily, but she cleared her throat and continued in a more confident tone. "But I cannot tell you anything at all. If anyone else were to find out what happened, they'd all hate _him_ more."

Hate _who_ more? Alfred was beyond confused at that point.

"But you really don't have to bottle up your emotions like that-" Alfred began to say something, but was immediately cut off by the painful cry of her voice.

" _Please please_ go away. I don't deserve any love." Her tears had started up again and were falling down her face, as she took a few steps away from Alfred. "This is something I must face on my own."

And with that, she hurriedly began to walk away.

_...What?_

Alfred had no idea _what_ she was talking about. Who would "they" hate more? What did she want to hide? It all made no sense, and he still had no idea why she was crying. All that he felt was a piercing emptiness in his heart as he watched her painfully stride away at a fast speed.

Hold on a second. She knew Alfred's name. Was she a country after all?

Alfred suddenly stood up in an attempt to catch up to the mysterious woman, wanting to know her identity. However, she had already lined up at her airport gate and was beginning to blend in with the crowd.

The last feature that Alfred saw of the woman was a strand of brown hair peeking out from underneath her cloak.

~ { 🍭 } ~

_🍭 Currently texting Arthur Kirkland [contact name: angryeyebrowguy]. 🍭_

**angryeyebrowguy** : So you're saying that you saw a crying person who's probably a country at the airport?

**You** : yee

**angryeyebrowguy** : Don't "yee" me. This could actually be serious. Tell me the details.

**You** : ok fine, i'll tell you (￣︿￣)

**You** : so like

**You** : i was just about to leave for ny bc yall were really boring this time at the berlin meeting thing

**You** : and then i see this girl sitting there crying while waiting for her plane,,,

**You** : like she was shaking and all, it was kinda weird. so i decided to approach her bc i thought she might appreciate a bit of support

**You** : but then she just ran away?? and said this weird thing about needing to hide something. i had no idea what the heck she was even referring to, though

**angryeyebrowguy** : Wait, are you sure this girl is a country and not one of your human friends? We can't know who this person is for sure.

**You** : i mean, she knew my name even tho she didn't look like anybody i knew. i didnt even tell her who i was so im just assuming she's a country 😔

**You** : and i don't rlly have much human friends rn

**You** : i kinda knew to stop after what happened with davie so uh

**angryeyebrowguy** : Wait... Davie? Who's that?

**You** : uhhh haha nvm

**angryeyebrowguy** : ...Uh America, are you doing okay?

**You** : yeah, i'm fine, just forget it. i was typing without thinking

**You** : but anyways, that girl is definitely a country, but i'm unsure of what to do about it, really. she didn't seem like she was doing okay, but then again, it's not my business

**angryeyebrowguy** : Actually, I think we should figure out who this person is. She appears to be in a grave state of mind. 

**angryeyebrowguy** : We should come to her aid.

**You** : wait, really? idk, is it our responsibility to go after this person? it's another nation's affairs, so we shouldn't just be butting in, y'know

**You** : like i know she was crying and i do feel bad, but she clearly wanted space when i tried to comfort her. she probably doesn't want any other country invading her privacy

**angryeyebrowguy** : I mean, normally I'd understand and just hope this girl solves everything on her own, because it's always been that way for us nations. But this time, it's different.

**You** : different??? wdym by that?

**angryeyebrowguy** : Well, you know how I told you how Francis has been acting weird as of late? 

**angryeyebrowguy** : I just have this hunch that something is seriously wrong and that this person might know what's going on.

**You** : hehe ur worried about francis again 👀 👀 👀

**angryeyebrowguy** : Shut up. Anyone would do the same.

**You** : sure dude 👀 👀 👀

**angryeyebrowguy** : For heaven's sake... anyways, do you know anything about her appearance that stood out to you?

**You** : well,,, not really

**You** : oh wait, i think she had brown hair or something

**angryeyebrowguy** : Wait, really? That could be useful. 

**angryeyebrowguy** : There's not that many countries out there, so we should be able to narrow down people fast if we just need to look for someone with brown hair.

**angryeyebrowguy** : So there's Hungary, Belgium, Vietnam, Taiwan...

**You** : wait wait hold up, are we gonna travel to ALL of these countries' places just to figure out wtf is going on with that girl?

**angryeyebrowguy** : Yes.

**You** : damn, didnt know u were that whipped for francis, dude

**angryeyebrowguy** : You twat, that's obviously not why I'm doing this.

**You** : :)))

**angryeyebrowguy** : （￣^￣）Anyways, I'm coming to your place tomorrow morning so we can start planning this out, so don't sleep too late and leave me hanging.

**You** : wait. what?

**You** : i literally just got here from berlin and haven't rested at all (╥﹏╥) and now we're going on a world tour all of the sudden?? 

**You** : plus my house looks like trash, how tf are u gonna stay here even for an hour

**angryeyebrowguy** : Too bad. We have to do this. You'll understand soon.

**You** : i hate u (╥﹏╥)(╥﹏╥)(╥﹏╥)

**angryeyebrowguy** : Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow. Remember to open the door when I ring it.

**angryeyebrowguy** : Goodnight. :)

_angryeyebrowguy_ is offline.

**You** : uGHHHHH i hate this ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚ i shouldnt have said anything

**You** : goodnight,,,, smh

~ { 🍭 } ~

Alfred sighed and turned off his phone for the night, before catapulting himself onto his bed and pressing his face against the pillows. He couldn't seem to get the image of the woman crying out of his mind, simply because of how much she looked like she was in pain.

_God, tomorrow's gonna be rough, isn't it?_ he thought to himself, as he began to wonder who the country could have been. While Arthur did list many possible nations, he couldn't recall if they had attended the Berlin world meeting or not.

Just before he fell asleep, his mind replayed the last words that she had said to him before tearfully running off into the crowd.

" _This is something I must face on my own._ "

END OF CHAPTER 2.

{ 🍭🍦🍭🍦🍭 }

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day.


	3. 3 [🍦] Lovely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When part of the storyline is entirely in italics, this means that the event has either happened in the past or is occurring in a dream.
> 
> This and the next chapter will both be part of a dream flashback, so keep that in mind!
> 
> Take care of yourselves, fellow readers.

_The mysterious boy looked heavenly among the blizzard of snowdrift that surrounded him._

_Yes: he was like an angel that had descended from the heavens. His eyes glimmered even through the darkness of the chilly winter night, and he stood out against the endless blanket of white snow that clogged the once multi-colored landscape of the fields. He flinched slightly as the biting wind tugged at his scarf and almost dislodged it from its place on his neck, but he quickly gripped it before it flew away and retightened it._

_I could do nothing but stare as the mysterious scarf boy continued to trudge towards me in the snow, his eyes never once leaving my face. Frankly, it was a bit unsettling to see a random figure suddenly emerge from the pouring flurries of white snow, but he was practically my savior. I had almost accepted the fact that I'd die in the blizzard alone if it weren't for him._

_Well, I was actually unsure if countries were capable of dying from extreme cold, but I really didn't wanna stick around and find out._ _So it was nice having someone save me from freezing to death._

_I could only gaze in awe at the figure as he finally reached me and lifted me to my feet with delicate hands, as he began brushing off the snow that had caked the entirety of my legs. The boy then ran a hand through my hair to get rid of the snowflakes that had piled upon my head._

_"What are you doing out here, young one?" the figure asked, as his eyes fell upon my sorry-looking condition. I coughed a little and tried to get words out, but I realized that I had somehow lost my ability to speak. Perhaps it was because I had been out here for so long without water._

_While I was vigorously clearing my throat and trying to tell him how I had suddenly landed in the midst of a harsh snowstorm in the middle of nowhere, he suddenly lifted me up with ease despite him being not much taller than myself._

_"You need warmth more than anything right now. You can stay at my home for the night. You can explain why you're here, later."_

_Finally, a few hoarse words exited my mouth: "Thank you, mister."_

_"It is no problem. We have enough space for another person."_

_Still carrying me on his back, he began following a trail of footprints that he had left previously. Finally, we sighted a small wooden home in the distance, and he sped up until we arrived at the front door. He slowly lowered me from his grip, and knocked on the door twice._

_"Iryna, Natalya, I am home."_

_I heard a muffled "Coming" come from what sounded like a young woman's voice, and then a pretty-looking girl with platinum blonde hair opened the door. Her eyes and dress were both blue, and her hands were crossed behind her back._

_When her gaze fell upon me, however, her somewhat shy-looking expression immediately darkened._

_"Why is that boy clutching onto you so much, Ivan?"_

_The scarf boy, whose name was apparently Ivan, suddenly looked a bit flustered. "Look, Natalya, this boy is lonely and has no place to go right now. He was caught in the blizzard and I wouldn't want him to freeze out there._

_Natalya let out a long sigh before looking away and nodding. "Okay. Just don't have him stay longer than he needs to."_

_I looked up to the scarf boy's face, and he looked mildly annoyed as he took me by the hand and brought me into the wafting warmth of the house. Perhaps he received this obsessive type of treatment from Natalya often. Either way, that girl really creeped me out, so I stayed behind Ivan as we stepped over the threshold._

_As soon as I entered the house, I was surprised at how well-decorated it was compared to the dreariness of its outside appearance. There were small statues on the shelves with inscriptions in a foreign language, and a large fireplace in the center of the cozy home. There was a modest kitchen with an array of different tools on the rack, and a few couches splayed around the fireplace in what was probably considered the living room._

_I quickly ran to the front of the fireplace and practically collapsed in front of it, almost crying at the amount of warmth that it gave off because of how terribly cold I had been. I had so enthusiastically thrown myself in front of the fireplace that I didn't even notice another girl on the couch until about a minute later, and I shyly sat up when I finally caught sight of her._

_The other girl had shorter hair than the creepy girl, and generally had kinder eyes and a soft smile spread across her face. I guess she was the other girl Ivan had mentioned: Iryna._

_"Oh, hello there, little one," Iryna said in a whisper, a bit surprised but still smiling as she came over to sit next to me on the carpet. "What's your name?"_

_I looked at her curiously for a second, and almost accidentally said "America", but then I stopped myself. I couldn't just announce my country's identity to humans like that!_

_"I'm Alfred!" I said cheerfully, as I gave her a small grin. Iryna smiled back, and put a hand on my shoulder._

_"I'm Iryna. We'll do the best we can to make you feel at home, and then we'll find your parents, alright?" She then nervously looked back at Natalya, who immediately disappeared into the hallways as Ivan closed the door. "Don't mind Natalya, by the way -- she's always been a bit obsessed with Ivan," she said in a softer whisper. I nodded, and she cracked another smile and patted my head._

_It was honestly nice having Iryna talk with me so sweetly and pat my head and all that. I barely knew her and yet she was already like the mother I never had._

_Arthur never really did that for me even though I was his colony. He was often overseas fighting either France or Spain, and he often kept me locked in a mansion in America as a result. Because of that, I didn't even know the other countries that well._

_And it hurt being abandoned all alone in that house. I could tell that my people were also upset that Britain had colonized us just to leave us alone and tax us._

_So, I had the smart idea of running away as a way of rebellion, only to land myself in a blizzard and almost die. Thank god these three humans found me, or else I would've been dead meat._

_"U-uhm, can I stay here?" I suddenly piped up hopefully, as I took Iryna's hand. I didn't want to go back home. I just wanted to stay here forever. It was irrational thinking to propose that so suddenly, now that I look back on it, but I just wanted a home where I was loved._

_Iryna's eyes widened, and she almost looked a little sad. "Don't you have a home to return to? Your parents must be immensely worried about you."_

_Arthur? Worried about me? That's funny._

_"This place is better," I said stubbornly, while warming my hands near the fireplace. I then sighed, as I thought of what would happen if I actually did go back home. Arthur would throw a fit for sure and probably keep me in the mansion for longer without him._

_I honestly missed the times when Arthur used to play a lot with me and try to entertain me every single day, even if it came to eating his weird scones. I used to revolve around his entire world, and he meant everything to me as my caretaker._

_But he had grown cold over the times of war, being too occupied with fighting France and Spain to give a damn._

_Iryna looked at my gaze for a moment, and an unreadable emotion flickered before her eyes as she suddenly brought me into an embrace._

_And then she whispered: "Are you Arthur's colony, by any chance?"_

_My eyes widened._

_So the three of them were countries all this time? I suddenly felt a bit dumb for hiding my identity, not knowing that I had been around nations this entire time._

_"How did you-"_

_"We've heard news from overseas about Britain acquiring the colonies in the New World," Iryna said. I was surprised to see a flash of anger in her eyes, because she practically had radiated with a sense of kindness. "Those Western Europeans never stop fighting. They're a menace. Especially Arthur."_

_So they apparently understood what was going on in the Americas at the time. I felt relieved that they were nations who truly understood what I was going through. I was also very lucky: if it were some other nation that I had turned up in, perhaps those countries may have tried to seize me for their own._

_I didn't realize tears were falling down my face until Iryna noticed and squeezed both of my hands tightly. My quiet tears turned into small sobs as I buried my face in her lap._

_"I-I just wanted Arthur to come home, but he doesn't care about me anymore," I gasped between breaths, as I tried to take in deep breaths to calm myself. "So I ran away but ended up here."_

_Iryna ran a soothing hand over my head before embracing me, and then wiped my tears away with her handkerchief. "Take deep breaths. It'll be okay."_

_"I wish I could just disappear. I don't wanna be here."_

_"No, please don't wish for that, young one," Iryna said, but I was barely listening to her through my sobbing as my vision blurred from the amount of tears that were still filling my eyes. I could see Iryna glance at the corner of the room with a helpless expression on her face, and when I turned to see where she was looking, I saw that she was looking at Ivan, who was apparently in the room the entire time._

_"Vanya... could you help me calm him down?" she asked Ivan, with a regretful expression on her face. "I want to stay with him but I do need to cook food for the night."_

_Ivan was silent for a moment, as if he were hesitating, but I couldn't read his facial gestures that well because of the enormous scarf that covered a part of his face. He finally nodded after a few more seconds and began walking towards me._

_Now that I could see him more clearly since we were inside, I could make out his features more clearly. He had a round face and piercing violet eyes that I couldn't read very well. I noticed that he had a slightly stiff, upright posture, and hair that was such a deep ashen blonde that it shone silver in the dim light of the candles on the dining table._

_As Iryna got to work in the kitchen and began removing a couple of pots from the racks, Ivan sat next to me but didn't say another word. He was staring at me occasionally, but he seemed unsure of how to comfort me as I tried to stop the tears from flowing from my eyes._

_To say the least, it was awkward. He kept looking at me with an unsure glance. He clearly wasn't good with people, though, so I didn't blame him. He looked like more of the quiet type, after all._

_Finally, Ivan spoke up at last after most of my tears had dried. "Are you feeling better?"_

_I nodded. "Yeah, much better. I'm sorry for troubling you guys with all this as soon as you took me in."_

_"Don't worry."_

_The conversation died out again. It was a frustrating experience to try to get him to talk to me, so the two of us just sat there next to each other as the flames continued to dance across the burning logs in the hearth._

_There was something about Ivan's face that drew me to him: perhaps it was the confident way in which he carried himself despite not looking much older than me. He had clearly matured beyond his years compared to me, a weak colony under British rule. At the same time, the intense burning of his eyes contrasted the features of his face, with his child-like chubbiness. He also looked small in his scarf, which was oversized and concealed part of his face._

_"Your face is cute," I suddenly blurted out without thinking, and after I realized that the words left my mouth, my face flushed a little. 'God Alfred, what the heck is wrong with you?'_

_I had no idea what had gotten into me to compliment him out of nowhere like that. I knew that Natalya was already obsessed with him, and I really didn't want to die from her hands after already nearly surviving death. I fearfully glanced at Ivan's face, anticipating an angry reaction._

_However, he didn't react much at all, although I did notice his ears turn slightly red. "U-uhm. Thanks." His stammering was startingly out of character considering how cool-looking he had seemed when saving me from the blizzard. Or perhaps I was just projecting too much expectations onto him._

_I felt my cheeks become more red as he smiled a little at the compliment before looking away again, and I felt a slight pounding in my heart. Even to this day, I still have no idea why I had reacted like that. Perhaps it just gave me a bit of happiness to see his stoic face turn into one of a genuine smile for once. Heck, I barely knew this country, but he did seem like a nice person for helping me out._

_"Food's ready!" Iryna suddenly piped up, and my eyes shone as I hurried to the table. I hadn't eaten in days, so I was more than ready to finally get something warm to eat. I struggled to pull myself onto one of the tallest chairs around the dining table, but I finally reached the top after a lot more struggling. I let out a triumphant cry at my achievement, and Iryna let out a small laugh as Ivan and Natalya also took their seats on the other side of the table.  
_

_It was the best meal I had ever experienced, and it felt like I was a part of a family for the first time ever._

_However, my eyes grew sad as I began mixing around the mug of hot chocolate that Iryna had given me. As much as I felt welcomed and loved here, I knew I couldn't stay here with Ivan and the others. I was Arthur's colony after all._

_Was it too much to ask to want this moment to last forever?_

END OF CHAPTER 3.

{ 🍭🍦🍭🍦🍭 }

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Characters
> 
> Natalya --> Belarus  
> Iryna --> Ukraine
> 
> The next chapter will be a continuation of this flashback, and then we'll go back to the main story about finding out the secret of the mysterious girl in chapter 5. :)
> 
> Also, to give a bit of historical context about the flashback, I made young Alfred first meet Ivan around 1722, when the Russian Empire was just recently established. It was also when America was still a colony under Britain, but not liberated yet.
> 
> Have a wonderful day.

**Author's Note:**

> Characters:
> 
> Ivan --> Russia  
> Alfred --> America  
> Yao --> China  
> Francis --> France  
> Arthur --> Britain  
> Kiku --> Japan
> 
> Thank you for finishing the first chapter. Leave comments and feedback if you can.


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